The Cele Peterson Arizona Collection is a rich collection of books and other materials about Arizona and the Southwest, with a special focus on Tucson, Pima County, and southern Arizona. The collection has more than 10,000 items and is growing. Materials date from the 18th Century to the present and explore diverse topics, including history, natural history, the arts, animals, plants, weather, climate, floods and disasters, neighborhoods and barrios, mining, agriculture, local oddities, novels, archeology, poetry, memoirs, biographies, and tall tales—told from many different viewpoints. It is truly one of the library’s hidden gems, and a goldmine for local historians, teachers, scholars, visitors, and anyone curious about this amazing community!
Please note, Cele Peterson Arizona Collection materials are housed at Joel D. Valdez Main Library and are available to everyone to be read, reviewed, copied, photographed, and enjoyed. Because they are vulnerable or irreplaceable, however, none of the items may be checked out or leave the third floor. Some items have circulating copies in other parts of the library. If there is another copy that can be checked out, it will be noted in the catalog record.
Each month, we’ll bring you a list of 5-10 books on different subjects, selected to show off the splendid depth and variety of this collection.
We’re starting with All About Tucson—books about the local history, art, culture, and the natural beauty of this city. Each item on this list represents a different aspect of the collection: history, art, family history, natural history, memoir, literature, and food.
For more information about each title, including a description, location, and the catalog record, click on the link below:
Tucson, the Life and Times of An American City
Directory of the City of Tucson for the Year 1881
